The United States and Iran have agreed in principle to reopen the Strait of Hormuz with a commitment from Iran to dispose of its highly enriched uranium, although exactly how and when that would happen is still up in the air, a U.S. official told reporters on Sunday.
The official said a formal deal has not yet been signed and is still subject to final approval from President Trump and Iran’s supreme leader, which could take days. The official said the U.S. believes the supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has endorsed the broad template of the plan, but there is not yet a specific document for him to sign.
Iran has made no public comments on the agreement or the process going forward.
Despite the confidence from the United States, many of the most contested issues remain unsolved, and the negotiations and fragile cease-fire could collapse at any point. The U.S. official repeatedly acknowledged they could not predict what Iran would ultimately agree to, or even if the supreme leader would formally sign off.
But the official said the reopening of the strait, which would not include any tolls, would remove the economic pressure. reassure the markets and create space to address the nuclear issues. The official did not provide a timeline for how long the United States would allow for a deal on the nuclear issues.
Many of Mr. Trump’s allies are furious about the contours of the deal and have vocally criticized it, which could complicate its final approval. Beyond a few posts on social media on Saturday, Mr. Trump has not substantively addressed the negotiations.
Chief among the unresolved issues is the mechanism by which Iran would dispose of their highly enriched uranium. The deal also does not address Iran’s missile stockpile nor does it stipulate a moratorium on enrichment. The U.S. official said those issues would be addressed in future negotiations.
In previous rounds of negotiations, the United States has sought at least a 20-year commitment, though on Sunday, the official said the precise timeline of the moratorium mattered less than the mechanism by which to enforce the ban. And future negotiations will center on all of Iran’s stockpile, not just the highly enriched uranium, but the official said they could not predict what Iran would ultimately agree to.
At this stage, the U.S. is not offering to unfreeze any of Iran’s assets, but U.S. officials have made clear they are willing to begin that process if Iran follows through on their nuclear commitments. The official declined to specify which or what amount of assets would be unfrozen nor which sanctions would be lifted first.
The Trump administration continues to say it wants a better deal than the Obama administration’s Iran nuclear deal. The official said they did not like that Mr. Obama’s Iran deal, which Mr. Trump abandoned, allowed Iran to enrich up to a certain level. That deal barred Iran from enriching uranium until 2030 beyond a level of 3.67 percent — enough for research and medicine but not bombs.
The official said the agreement would not be signed Sunday and anything formal would likely take days. Officials are still negotiating wording issues in the agreement, though the official declined to specify what they were.
Tyler Pager is a White House correspondent for The Times, covering President Trump and his administration.
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